Plot: The gorgeous Margot supports her aged father by seducing men on trains, slipping them a Mickey Finn (a beso de sueño) and robbing them of money and jewelry. One night her victim is a currency smuggler taking 100 million pesetas out of Spain. He’s being watched by a cop and by a burned-out alcoholic, Salvatierra, who does occasional jobs for a corrupt banker; they are quickly on Margot’s trail. The cop suspects Salvatierra of working with Margot, but Salvatierra has his own agenda. He becomes Margot’s protector; is it for his own good or for hers as well? And what are these feelings that develop between the two of them? Where will the money end up? – plot from imdb.com

Plot: Fausta is suffering from a rare disease called the Milk of Sorrow, which is transmitted through the breast milk of pregnant women who were abused or raped during or soon after pregnancy. While living in constant fear and confusion due to this disease, she must face the sudden death of her mother. She chooses to take drastic measures to not follow in her mother’s footsteps. Written by Pusan International Film Festival

Plot: The story, set in 1999, is told in flashback form: in June 1974 a federal justice agent, Benjamín Espósito, becomes spellbound by and subsequently entangled in the investigation of the crime of a young woman, brutally raped and murdered inside her house in a Buenos Aires neighbourhood. Her widowed husband, bank employee Ricardo Morales, is shocked by the news; Espósito vows to find the killer and bring him to justice.

Why See It: Winner of the 2009 Best Foreign Film at the 82nd Oscars.

Cast: Ricardo Darín, Soledad Villamil, Pablo Rago

Plot: An adventure drama that tells the story of Santiago, a 22-year old from Lima. Following his father’s suicide, haunted by his inner daemons and hatred for the world in general, Santiago decides to escape the crude Lima winter to take refuge in Mancora, a beach to the north of Peru where it is always summer.

Why See It: A fun film that originally premiered at the Seattle International Film Festival. Not too serious, lots of beautiful people, and, of course, beautiful Spanish.

Cast: Jason Day, Elsa Pataky

Plot: In Spain, the former sailor Ramón Sampedro has been quadriplegic for twenty-eight years and is fighting in court for his right of practicing euthanasia through an association that defends the freedom of choice and leaded by his friend Gené. Ramón is introduced to the lawyer that is defending his cause, Julia, who has a degenerative fatal disease; and meets Rosa, a lonely worker that has been abused by men. Their relationship changes the behavior and viewpoint of life of Rosa and Julia. Written by Claudio Carvalho

Why See It: The Sea Inside won the 2004 Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film, the 2004 Golden Globe for Best Foreign Language Film, and 14 Goya Awards including awards for Best Film, Best Director, Best Lead Actor, Best Lead Actress, Best Supporting Actor, Best Supporting Actress and Best Original Screenplay.

Cast: Javier Bardem, Belén Rueda, Lola Dueñas

Plot: Honduran teenager Sayra reunites with her father, an opportunity for her to potentially realize her dream of a life in the U.S. Moving to Mexico is the first step in a fateful journey of unexpected events. Written by IMDb
Editors

Why Watch It: Powerful and realistic depiction of the dangers that Latino Americans face while trying to reach America.

Cast: Kristian Ferrer, Édgar Flores, Paulina Gaitan

Plot: Raimunda lives in Madrid with her daughter Paula and her husband Paco, who is always drunk. Her sister, Sole, is separated and works as a hairstylist. The two sisters lost their parents in a fire in La Mancha, their birth village, years ago. Their aunt, Paula, still lives in the village and continues to speak about her sister Irene, mother of the two sisters, as if she were still alive. When the old aunt dies the situation changes and the past returns(volver) in a twist of mystery and suspense. Written by 1felco

Why See It: Pedro Almodóvar’s best movie to date is a fascinating look at death, and the rich culture that surrounds it in northern Spain.

Cast: Penélope Cruz, Lola Dueñas, Antonio de la Torre

Plot: A newly-ordained priest, Padre Amaro, arrives in Los Reyes, a small town in the fictional state of Aldama, to start his life serving the church. Young Amaro soon becomes infatuated with the beautiful Amelia a local sixteen-year-old girl, and politics and sexual passions threaten to corrupt him.

Why See It: When it was released El Crimen del Padre Amaro caused a controversy on the part of Roman Catholic groups in Mexico who tried to stop the film from being screened. They failed, and the film became the biggest box office draw ever in the country, beating previous record holder, Sexo, pudor y lágrimas.

Cast: Gael García Bernal, Ana Claudia Talancon

Plot: After a chance encounter at a theater, two men, Benigno and Marco, meet at a private clinic where Benigno works. Lydia, Marco’s girlfriend and a bullfighter by profession, has been gored and is in a coma. It so happens that Benigno is looking after another woman in a coma, Alicia, a young ballet student. The lives of the four characters will flow in all directions, past, present and future, dragging all of them towards an unsuspected destiny. Written by Anonymous

Why See It: A fascinating look at the difficulty of communication between the sexes, loneliness and intimacy, secrets and infidelity, and the persistence of love beyond loss. In 2005, Time magazine film critics Richard Corliss and Richard Schickel included Talk to Her in their list of the All-TIME 100 Greatest Movies.

Cast: Javier Cámara, Darío Grandinetti, Leonor Watling, Rosario Flores

Plot: A single mother in Madrid sees her only son die on his 17th birthday as he runs to seek an actress’s autograph. She goes to Barcelona to find the lad’s father, a transvestite named Lola who does not know he has a child. First she finds her friend, Agrado, a wild yet caring transvestite; through him she meets Rosa, a young nun bound for El Salvador, but instead finds out she is pregnant by Lola. Manuela becomes the personal assistant of Huma Rojo, the actress her son admired, by helping Huma manage Nina, the co-star and Huma’s lover. However, Agrado soon takes over when Manuela must care for Hermana Rosa’s risky pregnancy. Written by {jhailey@hotmail.com}

Why See It: Roger Ebert observed, “You don’t know where to position yourself while you’re watching a film like All About My Mother, and that’s part of the appeal: Do you take it seriously, like the characters do, or do you notice the bright colors and flashy art decoration, the cheerful homages to Tennessee Williams and All About Eve, and see it as a parody?

Cast: Penélope Cruz, Cecilia Roth, Marisa Paredes

Plot: “The Motorcycle Diaries” is based on the journals of Che Guevara, leader of the Cuban Revolution. In his memoirs, Guevara recounts adventures he, and best friend Alberto Granado, had while crossing South America by motorcycle in the early 1950s. Written by bdorfman

Why See It: An intruiging look into the life of a young Ernesto “Che” Guevara. The trip serves to expose a Latin American identity as well as explore the identity of one of its most memorable revolutionaries.

Cast: Gael García Bernal , Rodrigo De la Serna, Mercedes Morán

Plot: Abandoned by their girlfriends for the summer, teenagers Tenoch and Julio meet the older Luisa at a wedding. Trying to be impressive, the friends tell Luisa they are headed on a road trip to a beautiful, secret beach called Boca del Cielo. Intrigued with their story and desperate to escape, Luisa asks if she can join them on their trip. Soon the three are headed out of Mexico City, making their way toward the fictional destination. Along the way, seduction, argument and the contrast of the trio against the harsh realities of the surrounding poverty ensue. Written by Sujit R. Varma

Cast: Gael García Bernal, Diego Luna, Ana López Mercado